It’s been a busy week for the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) on and off the pitch, with Chris Coleman emerging as a candidate to take over as Republic of Ireland manager.
Lee Carsley, who has been a key target through a lengthy recruitment process, remains committed to his role with England Under-21s. There were concerns about the starting salary of 560,000 euros offered by the association in exchange for loyalty, but negotiations continued.
If negotiations between FAI director of football Mark Canham and Carsley fail, Coleman’s experience in major competitions would likely give him an advantage over other candidates.
In any case, the 14-strong FAI Board, chaired by Tony Keohane, will meet to rubber-stamp the appointments, with the immediate focus being an appearance at Thursday’s Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee (PAC). Must.
The situation may change in the coming hours.
According to Ireland’s Daily Mirror newspaper, former Celtic manager Neil Lennon was informed by Canham that his application had been unsuccessful, while former Ireland manager Brian Kerr spoke with Chris Hughton on Virgin Media last week. He said Kearsley was probably not a candidate.
Mr Kerr said: “I believe Lee Carsley will not be leaving the position.” “I think one of the reasons Lee didn’t accept it is that, from what I know about him, he’s a very loyal and principled man. I believe he won’t break the contract he has with him. That’s one of the reasons he’s so well-regarded in the game.”
Coleman’s questionable history as a club manager is offset by the fact that the 53-year-old led Gareth Bale’s Wales side to the Euro 2016 semi-finals. His late father, Paddy Coleman, was from East Wall in Dublin and played for Ireland. Ronan Curtis is his godson.
Mr. Canham reportedly conducted interviews for behind-the-scenes staff in Abbottstown last week. Kit Symonds was Coleman’s assistant coach during his spell with Wales, with two unsuccessful spells at Sunderland and China. Simmons briefly reunited with Coleman at Greek club Astromitas in 2022.
If appointed, the Swansea-born player’s entire career cannot be glossed over. Six of his eight managerial posts lasted two years or less, but he never broke the 30-game record at Real Sociedad, Greece’s AE Larissa, Sunderland and China’s Hebei FC. The OBE-winning Wales international’s stint ended with James MacLean’s victory over Cardiff as Ireland qualified for the 2018 World Cup play-offs, where they lost 5-1 to Denmark.
When asked for comment, the FAI said it had no updated information on the vacant management positions. Canham is expected to brief the media at the Aviva Stadium on Tuesday about his plans for a path into Irish football. He spent the last week trying to sell his vision to the grassroots at “workshops” in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Letterkenny.
FAI executives, led by Jonathan Hill, appeared before the PAC on Thursday to explain how the €33.7 million coronavirus grant was allocated, which Mr Hill mistakenly received last year and then repaid to the association. We will explain further about payments.
All of the above threatens to overshadow the first women’s international matches of the year, as Ireland face Italy in Florence this Friday and Wales at Tallaght Stadium on Tuesday. The men’s team will open the season in 2024 with friendly matches between Belgium and Switzerland in Dublin on March 23rd and 26th.
- Check out our new projects Common pointEvolving Islands: Ireland and the United Kingdom
- Apply push alert Get the best news, analysis and commentary delivered straight to your phone
- search Irish Times on WhatsApp Stay up to date
- The In The News podcast is published daily – find the latest episode here